Heart and Soul’d resembles a boutique store but is so much more than that.

Located in Swarthmore, the thrift shop Heart and Soul’d is more than a second-hand boutique but also a hub of connection, compassion, and community.

Sisters Kristen and Terry Manchi founded the store in January 2024.

“Our primary mission is to raise funds for foster and adoption services,” Kristen said.

Proceeds support organizations such as Fostering Hope of Delaware County and CASA Youth Advocates. The shop doesn’t stop there; over time, it has evolved into a place where people connect, becoming a staple for the Haven community.

“We have one [Haven] student who creates jewelry for us, and we sell it in the store,” Kristen said. “We’ve also had the literary magazine available in our store… It’s another avenue for them to learn about things that are offered at their school.”

The store is a place for people to connect, shop, and learn things about each other.

“I’m like a regular at Heart and Soul’d,” senior Ella DiBonaventura said. “I’ve made things for it and have seen old friends walk in and out. It’s such a great community and opportunity to better connect with your home.”

The store brings strength and compassion out in people.

”One time I needed a dress for an event, and everyone in the store helped me pick one,” senior Jaden Spears said. “People I didn’t even know were giving me compliments and hyping me up. It made me feel really seen and supported by my community.”

The store has inspired young students to participate and help with their community.

“When I went to this store for the first time and saw the amazing things they were doing, I wanted to help my community out,” DiBonaventura said. “I work at a program at my school where we tutor kids at the Chester community center, and was inspired to organize a toy drive with my sister.”

The store is a meaningful place for many in the area and creates a space for people to connect.

Due to its convenient location in Swarthmore’s town center, the Swarthmore Cooperative (CO-OP) is a popular spot for students of all ages to meet with friends and grab a bite to eat.

Students of all ages flock to the grocery store and consider it a crucial landmark in the ville.

“They have some really unique stuff that I haven’t really seen anywhere else before,” junior Magnolia Brown said. “They have all different types of food, and their homemade food is really good. All really good stuff.”

A local group of women opened the CO-OP in 1932, hoping to help make better quality fresh produce available to the town through beginning a buying club, which later became the third ever food cooperative in the United States, according to the Swarthmore CO-OP website. Now, the CO-OP still strives to cater towards the community and lines its shelves with mostly local produce.

“[Our goal is] really to be focusing on local products and just supporting the community. I always say that we’re a pillar of the town,” CO-OP front-end and membership manager Shaina Ragamat said. “We’ve been here for a long time. People know us, and people grow up with us.“

Both the indoor window side tables and the outdoor patio-seating options offer places for customers to sit and eat, fostering many memories for students who visited the store throughout their childhood.

“In middle school, we would always hang out there, and we’d always get drinks and snacks. I feel like it’s just part of the town,” Brown said. “[I like] everything about it.”

The CO-OP staff has implemented various community elements, such as a “bag library”—a barrel by the register where customers can drop or take reusable grocery bags—and an art swap wall, in the store within the past few years. The goal is for the space to be safe, inclusive, and welcoming to all.

“We just want to make sure that everyone is happy, comfortable, hungry, and well fed,” Ragamat said.

The library offers exclusive teen programs and a teen room for kids to hang out and find young adult books.

The Helen Kate Furness Library opened in 1902 and was initially run out of a room at Wallingford Elementary School. Many students in Wallingford and Swarthmore have been going to the library for years. The library offers many programs for all age groups.

Because the library is close to the schools, buses drop off students there after middle and high school, and many students live within walking distance, leading to a lot of time spent throughout their childhoods at the library.

Teen Librarian Jenny Reitmeyer notes that the library offers craft programs, movement programs, financial literacy programs, and college application process help for teens.

“I work closely with the Strath Haven Middle School and Strath Haven High School,” Reitmeyer said. “Of course, [we offer programs for] kids who are homeschooled or go to private schools as well, but we’re just down the street from Wallingford elementary, the middle school, and high school.”

For sophomore Shelby Seidman, the library has been a part of growing up.

“I’ve been going there basically as young as I can remember—at the very least four or five years old. I’ve always lived in the Wallingford area, so that library and Swarthmore library have been places I’ve known since as far back as I can remember,” Seidman said.

The library also partners with local students and the schools to offer more learning opportunities.

“One of the Strath Haven High School students is establishing a science National Honor Society with Mr. [Andrew] Benzing,” Reitmeyer said. “In establishing a science National Honor Society, they need to have a project, and here at the library, one of our test members is installing a monarch way station garden, which is milkweed and nectar plants to feed the monarchs on their migration to Mexico every year.”

Overall, the library offers a comforting environment to anyone who chooses to be there.

“Everyone there is genuinely kind, and they are there to help everyone out. It’s just a great place to go if you just want to relax or read a book,” sophomore Taylor Moody said.

WSSD contains numerous trails and parks, allowing students to relax and refresh in nature.

On an average Saturday in WSSD, where can you find biker gangs, peaceful families of five hiking, children’s soccer games, and remote-control car racing leagues?

The answer is Smedley Park, one of the many systems of parks and trails throughout WSSD.

Encompassing 141 acres, Smedley Park contains numerous trails and connections to other parks, as well as fields for youth activities. According to Friends of Smedley Park, a nonprofit organization focused on promoting and maintaining the park, the park was formed in 1937 and named after the first chairman of the Delaware County Park Board, Samuel Smedley.

The land was originally used for a paper mill that began operating in 1826, though the mill was torn down after the I-476 highway was completed in 1991, an installation that prompted an environmental and historical impact study.

George Gorman works with Friends of Smedley Park to maintain the trails, and recently began the Adopt-A-Trail program to allow for community members to help with trail maintenance.

On March 29, Chester Ridley Crum Watersheds held their annual cleanup, an effort Gorman says that youth participated in.

“For people who are locked onto the screens all day, I’m a firm believer that something like non-competitive hiking or biking is a nice way [to relax],” Gorman said. “You’re doing your homework all the time, just get out in the woods.”

Sophomore Owen Graden enjoys biking and hiking in the park. He particularly enjoys the Springfield Trail, a five-mile loop running through Smedley and various parks in Springfield.

“It creates a nice space where there’s a lot of woods and you could go on nice hikes and enjoy the outdoors,” Graden said.

The park is also used for youth soccer and baseball games, with fields and playgrounds available for younger children. There is even an extensive remote-control car racing culture.

Sophomore Carson Keller is part of the cross country and track teams and uses Smedley and the surrounding trails for running. The Smedley-Leiper trail, a paved trail, provides connections between trails in Smedley and other trails and roads, making it more accessible on foot for those coming from near Haven.

“[Trails are] more interesting than road [running], you have to think about where you’re going,” Keller said. “They’re also hillier, [which is] better.”

Gorman believes that Haven students would do well to utilize the trails, seeing them as a chance to relax.

“I’m a big proponent of getting people away from the screens. Get out in the woods, go social, hang out with your friends, go for a walk on the trail,” he said.*

Bubble tea spot has become a regular hangout space not just for food and drink, but also for the environment.

If you’re looking for a place to cool down in the summer or hang out with friends, Kung Fu Tea is a community staple.

The smell of sweet tapioca and the clatter of Jenga blocks on polished wood hit as soon as the glass door opens. For many students, Kung Fu Tea has been a place to relax.

Couple Stacey Lin and Tony Chun moved to the U.S. from China in 2018, setting up Kung Fu Tea in April 2019. Lin’s favorite bubble tea flavor is honey oolong milk tea.

“[High schoolers] order bubble teas for parties or small groups for the team,” Stacey said. “Children don’t spend a lot [of money], so maybe our bubble tea can help them to meet at a nice place, so they can talk together some time after school.”

Sophomore Evan Lin worked there for two months over the summer, twice a week. His favorite bubble tea flavor is taro.

“Oftentimes when I’m working, I see familiar faces, people from our school, and sometimes even teachers with their children,” Lin said. “Usually they’ll order lots of food and drinks, and because we also have board games there, they’ll just hang around for a while, and sometimes my friends would also come visit me during my shifts.”

For Evan, the attentive details add up like the never-ending flow of toys in the claw machine. That “relaxing” and warm environment allowed him to grow communication skills from his first job.

Sophomore Roxy Shelton has been going to Kung Fu Tea for the past three years and considers herself a frequent customer. She enjoys hanging out with friends and studying there.

“The food and the drinks are very different compared to the other places in Media, and I just think that they’re all really good,” Shelton said.

Stacey wants to make Kung Fu Tea welcoming, but she doesn’t think being a special part of the community has to be restricted to certain places.

“I think anywhere [that has] the best service, best food, or drink, and being nice to them would be most important,” Stacey said. “If you don’t have those things, you cannot keep the customers, but that’s why we’ve been [around for] more than six years. So we’re okay for now, I think we’re doing a good job.”

A local favorite since 1985, pizzeria is a go-to spot for WSSD residents.

On the busy sidewalks of Park Ave, the aroma of pizza fills the street where customers bond with their friends and family over a place of tradition.

Renato Pizza, located at 8 Park Ave in Swarthmore, PA, has served the community since 1985. They specialize in pizza pies, salads, calzones, hoagies, and steaks, according to their website.

Pete Canakis, son of the original owner and manager, has been involved since he was a child and has over twenty years of working experience at the shop. He has seen Renato adapt through generations while maintaining its role as a community hub.

“It’s been a gathering place for kids from toddlers, elementary school, middle school, high school, and college students,” Canakis said. “They come back when they get older and they appreciate [it].”

Renato is also a place for students to gather. Junior Vincent Dykes, a longtime customer, described its unique atmosphere.

“All the kids are going to go there… It’s going to be the personality of the people around,” Dykes said. “It’s not bad and it’s cheap.”

Sophomore Sophia Annacone discovered Renato Pizza by walking through town with her friends.

“I heard from other people, ‘Yeah, it’s really good,’ so I got it,” she said. “I probably don’t go all the time, just when I want to treat myself.”

The environment and comfort food make Renato’s feel like a special place.

“The fresh-cooked food—it’s like a home-cooked meal,” Annacone said. “My favorite memory is just being there with my friends and enjoying our meal.”

Canakis emphasized the joy he finds in hosting these moments.

“It makes it all worth it,” he said. “You build relationships—from little kids to adults. It’s not like work. It’s fun.”

Even as technology and trends have changed throughout the shop’s existence from cash-only payments to modern POS systems, the heart of the place remains.

“It’s just a great community and a great place to work,” Canakis said. “I was working here with my dad when I was a little kid, and now sometimes I bring my own kids to work.”

Beyond its Italian-inspired menu, Renato Pizza plays an unspoken role in the WSSD community.

“It’s more than just pizza, it’s part of growing up here,” Dykes said.